In a disturbing development from upstate New York, 35-year-old Jessica Bowie has been slapped with terrorism charges. Authorities claim she converted to Islam, pledged her loyalty to the Islamic State group, and was hatching a plan to bomb the State Capitol. The arrest comes just as the nation approaches the 25th anniversary of the catastrophic September 11 attacks.
The FBI reveals that five years ago, Bowie adopted Islam and changed her name to Aisha Saif, embarking on a path that would lead her into the crosshairs of law enforcement.
Bowie’s arrest unfolded in dramatic fashion after she unwittingly recruited a circle of confidential informants, convinced they were members of ISIS prepared to assist her. Believing they would convert her acquired bomb-making supplies into a functional explosive and arm her with a handgun, she was instead cornered by the FBI.
Court papers reveal a chilling detail: Bowie allegedly expressed admiration for the 9/11 attackers who orchestrated the tragedy that claimed 2,977 lives on September 11, 2001.
While the federal complaint is scant on Bowie’s alleged terrorist activities prior to May 2026, investigators pinpoint her radicalization to online influences. This case underscores the persistent threat of internet-fueled extremism.
She had also allegedly lost multiple social media accounts for violating their terms of service with her posts, according to the criminal complaint — in separate posts in May, she allegedly wrote about poisoning “infidels” and “praise be to Allah for September 11th.” By the end of the month, she’d allegedly sworn allegiance to ISIS.
“The key with these sorts of cases is the initial lead,” said Paul Mauro, a retired NYPD inspector and Fox News contributor with experience working counter-terrorism cases. “This can come in a number of ways. We criticize social media plenty, but the fact that she was repeatedly banned on these platforms could have been a crucial pointer.”
By July, according to the complaint, she was allegedly using encrypted apps to post support for radical Islamic terror and anti-American rhetoric.
On July 16, she allegedly told an FBI informant that she had begun thinking about “Jehad” more seriously over the past several months. She was also allegedly posting online about how she was sharing ISIS propaganda and attempting to recruit.
In July and August, Bowie allegedly made five visits to scout the State Capitol.
On Aug. 5, photos released by the Justice Department allegedly show her buying bomb-making materials at a Rensselaer Home Depot store, including a large bucket of nails that was allegedly meant for shrapnel. “We definitely want to make sure the senators get killed for sure,” she allegedly told an informant.
New York State Capitol Building. (Photo by: John Greim/Loop Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) (John Greim/Loop Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
On Aug. 13, she allegedly asked an FBI informant whom she thought was an ISIS operative for help obtaining a handgun, according to the complaint.
On Aug. 19, the FBI arrested her after she allegedly gave $350 to a pair of FBI informants and got out of their vehicle carrying an inert handgun and dummy explosive that they’d given her, according to the complaint.
“There’s no helping me,” she allegedly told the FBI after being read her Miranda rights. “You guys know enough…I’m going to prison for the rest of my life.”
She added that she’d already looked up potential sentences online.
“Material support is up to 20 years in prison,” she said, according to the complaint. “I already googled it before. I know I’m going to jail.”
Earlier that day, she allegedly told an FBI informant that she had grown from “a little girl waving an American flag after 9/11 to now having stickers of the falling towers.” She was 10 years old on Sept. 11, 2001.
Bowie, who also has addresses listed in Schenectady, allegedly planned to hide a bomb in a DoorDash delivery bag at the New York State Capitol, according to the complaint.
“I want to destroy as much of the building as possible and kill the senators while they are meeting,” she allegedly told an informant. “I want them to lose a lot of important documents as well”
Then she allegedly wanted to escape to Syria before returning to the U.S. in the future for more attacks.
A woman who picked up a call to the number listed for Bowie’s mother hung up when contacted by News Media Friday.